croatia.eu land and people
Political organisation

Executive power

The President of the Republic represents and acts for the Republic of Croatia at home and abroad. The President is elected pursuant to universal and equal suffrage by direct election for a period of five years.

History

Yugoslavia and World War II

The unification of the Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia (known from 1929 on as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was implemented in opposition to the federal concept advocated by the Croatian elite, and was...

Society and way of life

Traditional culture

Traditional Croatian culture is characterised by exceptional diversity. Ecological conditions and the influences of the cultures with which the Croats have come into contact through history (Mediterranean, Central European...

Culture

Language

The Croatian language belongs to the South Slavic group of languages. It is the official language of the Republic of Croatia, and is also spoken by Croats in Bosnia and Herze­govina, Serbia (Vojvodina), Montenegro...

Geography and population

Nature protection

A large number of protected natural areas and features show that Croatia is a country of exceptional, diverse, and comparatively well-preserved natural beauty, of which some examples, such as the Plitvice Lakes, are...

History

Ancient times and the early Christian period

Thanks to trade routes and communications, the ancient peoples of the Bronze and Iron Ages living in the land which is present-day Croatia were in touch with the artistic...

Geography and population

Croatia in brief

Croatia has been present on the contemporary international political stage since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation, i.e. for a little less than three decades, but is one of the oldest European...

Society and way of life

Did you know?

The tie (cravat), today an essential fashion accessory for men and women, was named after an item in the uniform of Croatian soldiers during the Thirty Years War? As part of their uniform, they tied an eye-catching...

Education and science

Inventions and inventors

Croatia is considered the home of many inventions which have transformed human existence, several of which are used in everyday life. Creative Croatian inventors, a century-old tradition of university technical...

Culture

Theatre and ballet

The earliest examples of theatrical life in Croatia, as in other Western countries, were liturgical dramas in Latin, and, soon after, in Croatian. However, secular theatre appeared as early as the beginning of the 14th century...

Culture

Literature

Croatian medieval literature, unique in being produced in three languages (Latin, Old Slavonic and the vernacular) and three scripts (Roman, Glagolitic and Cyrillic) developed from the 8th to 16th century in...

Society and way of life

Sport

Although Croatia has inherited a tradition of sporting competition dating back to Roman times, or medieval knights’ tournaments, the beginnings of organised sport in the country can be traced to the late 19th century, when...